Animals were harmed in these films
While Hollywood prides itself on putting out gripping, fresh stories, it's also an undeniable money-making machine that has likely produced more bad movies than good ones. So, when a movie is well-received and brings in good numbers, producers can't resist creating a sequel. Though there are stunning examples like 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' and 'The Godfather: Part II,' many other sequels have been more embarrassing than anything else.
Check out this gallery to see film sequels that you forgot, or never even heard of to begin with.
While Hollywood prides itself on putting out gripping, fresh stories, it's also an undeniable money-making machine that has likely produced more bad movies than good ones. So, when a movie is well-received and brings in good numbers, producers can't resist creating a sequel. Though there are stunning examples like 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' and 'The Godfather: Part II,' many other sequels have been more embarrassing than anything else.
Check out this gallery to see film sequels that you forgot, or never even heard of to begin with.
The iconic Christmas movie following Kevin McAlister had one successful sequel in New York. But the third and fourth installments in 1997 and 2002, both with different actors, got worse, and then in 2012 came 'Home Alone: The Holiday Heist,' which ditches Kevin but uses the same plot.
The original film with Keanu Reeves offered a fresh premise about a bus that would explode below a certain speed, but 'Speed 2: Cruise Control' (1997) ruined that freshness by using the same idea with a cruise ship and Jason Patric instead.
Though the two first sequels were not bad and still starred Ralph Macchio, 'The Next Karate Kid' (1994) stars Hillary Swank as Mr. Miyagi's (Pat Morita) next protégé. It's the least successful by a long shot.
'Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights' (2004) traded in Baby and Johnny for Katey and Javier, who meet in Cuba in 1958.
The iconic Elle Woods returned for 'Legally Blonde 2' (2003), which didn't do as well, even with Reese Witherspoon. 'Legally Blondes' (2009) tried using Elle's younger cousins as stars instead, but do yourself a favor and stick to the original.
Jim Carrey 's role as a goofy animal-related detective was replaced with a child, his supposed son, in 'Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective' (2009). It did not please critics.
In a serious plot twist, '2010: The Year We Make Contact' (1984), the sequel to Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi classic, is widely considered to be a great film, even unfairly underrated as compared to the original!
'A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia' (1992) was reportedly an unofficial made-for-TV sequel, inexplicably starring the talented Ralph Fiennes.
In 'American Psycho II: All American Girl' (2002), Mila Kunis surprisingly played the lead—an even more psycho American Psycho. It couldn't match up to the original, however, so it fell into oblivion.
'Cinderella II: Dreams Come True' (2002) and 'Cinderella III: A Twist in Time' (2007) respectively saw Cinderella fail at her queenly duties and travel back in time to see what would happen if the glass slipper was a bigger size.
With the huge success of Tina Fey's iconic high school comedy, 'Mean Girls 2' (2011) was attempted with an unknown cast and a similar story, resulting in a predictably massive flop.
Though 'The Sandlot 2' (2005) came from the same director (David Mickey Evans), it was not nearly as beloved as the first.
Sandy and Danny will forever eclipse 'Grease 2' (1982), which is set two years later and features another high school clique-crossing romance involving a Pink Lady (Michelle Pfeiffer) and a British exchange student meant to be Sandy's cousin.
The first sequel one year later, 'I Still Know What You Did Last Summer,' received terrible reviews with some of the same actors, so when 'I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer' (2006) came around it used new actors and a new story, but it still tanked.
Jake Gyllenhaal's character's sister, Samantha Darko, takes the lead in 'S. Darko' (2009), in which she also faces a countdown along with a series of supernatural occurrences. The director of the original film was one of the sequel's biggest critics!
Don't worry, we're not talking about the sequels/prequels you know in this iconic saga. Rather, the 'Star Wars Holiday Special' (1978), which some consider episode 4.5 and revolves around the Chewbacca family. Despite featuring the main actors, the film was a disappointment.
This time traveling film received mostly positive reviews, but 'The Butterfly Effect 2' (2006) was a total miss.
Movies with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson sell easily, even when the concept is as far-fetched as this. But when Larry the Cable Guy is supposed to sell 'Tooth Fairy 2' (2012)? You can guess how it was received.
The hugely successful series-turned-movie had 'A Very Brady Sequel' (1996), but
'The Brady Bunch in the White House' (2002) did not enjoy the same success.
In the original, Nicolas Cage is a detective hired to investigate a possible crime in a snuff film he found. '8MM 2' (2005) was the Cage-less direct-to-video sequel that no one asked for, nor did anyone profit from.
The children's classic was freshly animated 13 times, so by 'The Land Before Time: Journey of the Brave' (2016), the tale had lost its touch.
The reliable tearjerker starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson was followed up with 'Marley and Me: The Puppy Years,' which featured none of the original cast and oddly gave Marley a speaking voice.
The beloved Christmas comedy was stretched into 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure' (2003), which critics said relied too heavily on a slapstick character.
'The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea' focuses on Ariel and Prince Eric's daughter, Melody, whom Ursula's sister threatens to harm in order to obtain King Triton's trident.
Following 1994's 'The Return of Jafar' came 1996's 'Aladdin and the King of Thieves,' which not many people remember despite featuring the royal wedding.
Set 20 years later, 'Ripley's Game' (2002) stars John Malkovich as Tom Ripley, who is back to his psychologically manipulative, murderous ways. But it's not what you think! It actually got better reviews and is a recommended watch.
After the mild success of 'Jaws 2' (1978), 'Jaws 3-D' (1983) was regarded as highly unnecessary, and the fourth installment 'Jaws: The Revenge' (1987) was seen as nothing more than a cash grab.
Creating a sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's iconic film is a bold move. The director of 'The Birds II: Land's End' (1994) was reportedly so embarrassed of the film, which confusingly featured original star Tippi Hedren in a different role, that he removed his name from the credits.
In 'Teen Wolf Too' (1987), the cousin of Michael J. Fox's character, played by Jason Bateman, also discovers he has the werewolf gene and undergoes the same lupine transformation.
Without Jim Carrey, and for some reason focusing on a baby with the powers of the Mask, 'Son of the Mask' (2005) was a major flop.
'Kronk's New Groove' (2005) benefited from Patrick Warburton's hilarious voice as Kronk, but there was unfortunately nothing else going for it.
'Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation' (2004) was so badly reviewed it naturally doomed 'Starship Troopers 3: Marauder' (2008) before it even came out.
Law enforcement couldn't catch ice pick murderer Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), who still appeared in 'Basic Instinct 2' (2006) as an irresistible object, 14 years later.
Original lead Sissy Spacek was reportedly offered a cameo in 'The Rage: Carrie 2' (1999), despite the fact that her character dies in the first film. She ended up making the right decision by turning it down.
The plot of 'Look What Happened To Rosemary's Baby' (1976) follows Rosemary's son Adrian as he worries about not living up to Satan's expectations. It stars Oscar-winning Ruth Gordon again, but her character was regarded as bland and wasted, along with the rest of the film.
The late Patrick Swayze was reportedly set to reprise his role in 'Road House 2: Last Call' (2006), but dropped out due to "creative differences." So his character's son took the lead in this direct-to-video film.
In an attempt to cash in on the success of the first film, 'Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2' (2000) managed to rack up five Razzie nominations and one win for Worst Sequel or Remake.
Lesser-known sequels to famous movies
Sequels that were unable to capture the audience’s interest
MOVIES Films
While Hollywood prides itself on putting out gripping, fresh stories, it's also an undeniable money-making machine that has likely produced more bad movies than good ones. So, when a movie is well-received and brings in good numbers, producers can't resist creating a sequel. Though there are stunning examples like 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' and 'The Godfather: Part II,' many other sequels have been more embarrassing than anything else.
Check out this gallery to see film sequels that you forgot, or never even heard of to begin with.